Little Lizard
by ShiroZangetsu
Summary: Espada 0, Hichigo Shirosaki was bored. But that soon would change as he picks up a tiny Lizard Hollow from the desert with a tiny tuft of orange fur. You know those tiny things right? They just exist to live from the Reiatsu in the air. Desperate for company he keeps the newly dubbed Ichigo. Can Ichi grow into a big Hollow or will he just bite Shiro's finger?
1. The Little Lizard in the Desert

**Hello everyone!**

 **Welcome to my second story here^^ Just a heads up: English is not my native tongue but I tired my best to avoid mistakes as best as I could! I hope you enjoy my little tale of the tiny Lizard with the orange fluffy fur *cough, totally not Ichigo, cough* and Shirosaki who loves his little friend to death. Enjoy!**

 **BTW: I am searching for a CO-Autor^^ (First posted on AO3)**

„And that's why.. my fellow friends we have to ..." …

Boring. So god damn boring. That's all Shirosaki could think about as he blinked slowly and had to suppress a yawn. He was well aware Aizen loved his long speeches. His long and boring speeches. This guy never shut up when he started talking. He probably loved hearing himself talk. Shirosaki wouldn't be surprised if this over-confident ass talked to himself in the mirror and loved every single second of it.

Looking around, it was more entertaining looking at the other Espada than listening to "Aizen-sama's important speeches you must attend". He almost wanted to bust into his insane laughter, the other Espada looked as bored as he was. The only three listening were Ulquiorra, Tosen and maybe Halibel. He wasn't 100 % sure about Halibel, but if she wasn't listening, she as at least looked like she was.

Yammy was just poking in his ear and flipping the dirt somewhere... ew. Yammy was always a gross bastard, that could only eat the whole day.

Syzael was shaking some weird liquid in a little glass container, grinning like mad, and Shirosaki was sure, this shit could explode anytime. He actually kinda hoped it would. That would at least lift up the mood.

He honestly couldn't remember the names of the weird Espada, that could eat other Hollows to gain their power, or the weird one with the many eyes. They were both boring and stupid anyways.

He snickered quietly as he saw Grimmjow and Nnoitria bickering. Those two always caused the most trouble. Well Shiro wasn't innocent himself, but being number Zero gave him basically a free pass to do whatever he pleased. He could see how Nnoitria and Grimmjow pissed each other off more and more, he couldn't wait till one really snapped and caused havoc. Those two were always fun to watch and fight. Grimmjow was just stubborn, violent and hold himself up very high. Not like Nnoitria or himself were any better to be honest.

Well like he mentioned before Ulquiorra was listing very closely to Aizen's words. This stick in the mud emo always listened to every single word "Aizen-sama" said. Because Aizen-sama was so amazing, and every word he said was more worth than gold. Tz! One day he would slip on his own slime path.

Halibel seemed to listen but he really wasn't sure as her hands were under the table, he wouldn't be surprised if she painted her nails or something. And he couldn't blame her, any distraction was welcome when Aizen wouldn't shut up.

Barragan, the former King, looked at Aizen very calculated. Shirosaki was sure he wasn't listening to what the Shinigami had to tell. He rather waited for a moment to kill him and reclaim his position as king. But could you really blame him for wanting that title back? Not really if you asked him.

And well number one Starrk was sleeping – what a surprise. He even snored lightly! Lilynette was draped over his lap snoring with him. They looked very comfortable together. Lilynette was normally a very energetic child but even she fell asleep after 3 hours of Aizen's "bed time story".

While Tosen was exactly like Ulquiorra, Gin on the other hand was pretty much as much bored as everyone else. Gin was a funny one, always being ready to cause trouble and pull pranks. Shirosaki was sure the white snake was entertaining himself by thinking up new pranks he could try out. Probably on Grimmjow or Nnoitria as those two always reacted the strongest towards such things. The happy glint in his mischievous eyes told him that Gin came up with something amazing this time.

Shirosaki almost fell asleep himself when he suddenly heard the word "Dismissed". He jumped up from his chair faster than anyone could watch and run out of the room. God! Even his ass hurt like mad from sitting 3 hours in this horrible lecture no-one cared about. Why did Aizen even bother? He just wanted to hear himself talk.

After sitting for so long the Arrancar was in need of some movement. So he set out for a stroll in the desert of Huneco Mundo. After walking under the ever shining moon he sat down on a rock. He was still kinda bored and – even though he would never admit it – a little lonely.

Every Espada had a Fractioné. Everyone but him. He never saw anyone worthy enough to be, and those that were already had an Espada to serve. Most of the Fractioné came from the time before the Espada existed. For instance Grimmjow's Fractioné. They were well.. friends (?) or team mates from his time as Vasto Lorde. Or something like that, it's not like he was interested in everyone's story of life.

He sat there for a while, just observing the desert, watching the tiny Hollows slithering around. Watching the wind whirl around the silver sand.

That's when he set his yellow eyes on a small lizard Hollow. Those weren't uncommon. Quiet the opposite actually. Those little fellas were like hmm... if he wanted to explain it to a human he would compare them so ants that walk around. OK, there probably were more ants in the word of the living but you know what he meant.

When another of the little ones slithered in the sand, doing whatever those little Hollows did, he saw a mini puff of orange fur on this one. Now that was something new. He wasn't a biologist or well... Hollowlogist (?) but that was something he hadn't seen before. It wasn't something big, but it was new and different. And that was exciting enough to follow the little guy.

Trotting slowly behind the little Hollow, watching what he was up to, wasn't hard for the Zero. Considering the size difference Shirosaki needed one step while the little guy needed many slithering steps, if you could call it that.

After a good minute or two of following the little lizard Shirosaki actually noticed that the little guy started to speed up. Maybe the brain of the little orange haired one wasn't even the size of a peanut, but he was smart enough to notice he was being followed. And not just followed by some random Hollow, no by a very big (at least for him) one that oozed of Reiatsu. And that was reason enough to slither for his life.

After all those poor little Hollows where the ones that mostly got stepped one and squashed. Or they got picked up and eaten without anyone caring. There was this one big guy, he was rather ugly and fat that always looked around for them. Some higher level Hollows had always screamed something like "Run, it's Yammy!".

And since he had orange hair, fur... whatever it was, he was one of the first beings to be spotted, so he always was one of the fastest one to bury himself in the sand when Yammy appeared.

Despite the little masked face being not really capable of showing emotions you could still somewhat see that the Lizard was very distressed. This big Hollow wasn't the size of Yammy, but the Reiatsu was 100 times worse. And that was reason enough to slither as fast as he could. Not that it was really fast for anyone being bigger than a mouse.

Hearing a little snicker from the bigger Hollow the little guy flinched as the white haired one suddenly was in front of him. He could have used Sonido or just made a big step, but that wasn't really important anyways.

Quickly turning around and slithering in the opposite direction Shirosaki decided to fuck around with the little guy and smirked as the Lizard tried to change directions all the time, only to see the the black socks and white shoes of the bigger male.

That's when the mini Hollow decided his best bet was to just bury himself and he quickly started to push away sand. Shirosaki looked confused for a second before he realized this guy's little plan. "Oh no ya won't." and just grabbed him with his white hand and lifted him to the height of his grinning face.

But the little thing wouldn't have survived for so long if he hadn't had at least the spirit to escape. If you ever had a hamster or mouse in your hand you would basically be in Shirosaki's situation as the little guy tried to jump off his hand and get everywhere. But the Arrancar just handled him from hand to hand and watched amused the little guy's struggle.

After realizing it was pointless running the little lizard Hollow was sure that was it for him. He had tried his hardest to escape but this was just pointless. The Espada seemed to notice it as well as the little Hollow stopped struggling all together and just looked him in the eyes with its tiny raised head.

Grinning Shirosaki decided to poke its little head with his black nailed pointer finger. But before he reached the head, the little lizard bit him, well tried to. With such a tiny mouth and Shirosaki being protected by a strong armor like skin he didn't even feel the bite. With all its might the little guy chopped down with his mini teeth, not going down without a fight. But all Shiro could do was snorting softly and tried to pull his finger out. He had to admit the lizard had a strong bite for his size, considering he had to shake him off softly.

"Ain't ya a strong little boy." He said grinning.

After proclaiming that he just lifted the tiny feet with its finger and turned him around, tripping it and making it fall on its back. The poor guy struggled like a bug and hissed angrily and frightened. Not knowing how to defend itself anymore the orange head just decided to curl itself in a little ball, hoping the big Hollow would lose interest and just throw him back in the sand.

With curious and slightly widened eyes the Espada looked at the little ball in his hand, now what was he supposed to do? He had no interest in eating it. He rarely ate nowadays and when he did he always made sure to hunt down a worthy opponent. Sometimes he sneaked in the world of the living to snatch some things, he actually enjoyed something the humans called candy quite a lot.

Without thinking too much about it he walked back to Las Noches with the little ball still in his hand. Lazily he dragged his feet to his room and settled down on his bed. Looking down at the palm of his hand the little guy still hadn't uncurled and didn't seem to plan it anytime soon.

He was kinda curious about the orange tuft of fur the Lizard had, he hadn't seen that before, not that he paid too much attention to these little Hollows but anyways...

Since the ball didn't move he softly touched the orange patch of fur making the little Lizard flinch but still not uncurling either. It was really soft and reminded him of his own fur he had at his ankles of his sleeves, only that his was black. Poking and petting it softly he enjoyed the feeling on his finger, wishing there was more he could tangle his finger in. Too bad the guy wasn't even the size of his hand but it was kinda cute.

Being lost in his thoughts he continued to pat the little patch of fur while staring at the wall without paying attention to his hand. He didn't realize when the orange head decided to actually uncurl itself and look at the bigger Hollow. He hadn't eaten him so far and wasn't squashing him in his hand either, he was actually petting him what felt very nice if the little Hollow was honest. Since he felt kinda save he decided to take a look at his surroundings. He had absolutely no clue were he was and how to get out but since the big white haired one didn't pay attention right now he saw it as his cue to quickly leave.

Carefully climbing down his hand he landed on the bed with a soft noise. Too bad that this woke the bigger one out of his mindless trance and his precise hearing picked up the tiniest noise. Quickly he grabbed the Lizard again and hold him close.

"Nu-uh, lil' one. Yer ain't gonna escape that easily from me." Now the little lizard started to actually get angry. An angry hiss was heard and he tried to bite Shirosaki's hand again. If he didn't plan on eating him then why was he torturing him like that? He was quite busy hiding himself and not dying thank you very much!

"Ain't ya aggressive? How cute, hehe. I like ya, so adorable. Almost like Grimmjow minus the adorable part." He snicked about his own joke. Grimmjow would be fuming if someone compared him to a simple desert lizard Hollow.

Apparently the guy wasn't harming him and he didn't understand what Shirosaki was talking about either. So he decided to do what he always did: eating. Now he wasn't hunting other Hollows. He was at the end of the food chain, there was no way he would hunt. No, normally he searched for a comfy place to stay and tonguing the air, sucking the Reiatsu out of it and being happy about it. That was basically his whole day.

So not thinking about the situation any further the little guy started to tongue the air and actually licking on Shirosaki's thumb. He was amazed! One lick at the air around this guy was more power than he could collect in a whole year with the normally dense air! Hissing contently he continued to lick at him and getting all the power he could get.

It took Shirosaki around one minute to understand what the little guy was doing. Grinning madly he grabbed the lizard at its tail and lifted him to his face. "Are yer trying ta eat me now? Rather bolt fer such a lil' Hollow. But I understand ya too well, I am so sexy everyone just wanna eat me."

Flaring with his little limps the orange head was really not found of being hold by his tail if the trashing and angry noises were anything to go by. You could almost see his panic as the Espada lifted him to his mouth. All the little guy saw were sharp teeth and he started to panic. So he would get eaten! Maybe with all the absorbed power from the tall guy he would be able to form a Cero. But it was too late and he already knew: that was it.

What he didn't expect was the soft press of lips against his head and a close press to the Arrancar's cheek. The little guy was confused, the Arrancar looked so... sad? Very quietly Shirosaki muttered more or less to himself. "Do ya wanna be my friend little guy. I am so lonely all the time. I ain't got a Fractioné like the others. Nobody likes me. They are only afraid of the 'power-hungry monster'. And I don't like them either. Ya can't even talk but still. I … I am lonely."

Shirosaki didn't know why he voiced his biggest weakness to a little desert Hollow, he was sure he probably couldn't even understand him. But it felt good saying this out loud for once, he really just wanted someone to turn to, someone to protect. And now he would protect this small guy, the little random lizard with the adorable orange tuft.

He laughed as the little guy just seemed to not get anything and went back to tonguing him, now his cheek. If the big guy wasn't going to hurt him he would collect all the power he could and run at the first chance he could. For the little lizard, this was a great idea and was probably one of the smartest thing he had come up within his short Hollow life.

"Guess that means yes." He smiled, a real smile. Patting his new little friend and scratching it under its fur he started thinking. "So lil' buddy, are yer a him or a her? And what's yer name?" The nameless lizard just stopped his tonguing for a second and looked questioning in his new owner's eyes for a second. Only to go back to licking at his cheek a second later.

Sighing Shirosaki chuckled at the cheek licking and looked around. He needed a name for him... or her. Looking around is gaze fell on something he hat stolen from the world of the living: candy. His eyes were glued to the brightly red warping paper of a bonbon: Strawberry. With a devious little smirk he lifted his new friend up and proclaimed proudly: "Ne, little one, yer name is Ichigo. As fer yer gender, you look kinda male ta me, and if not... Ichigo is an unisex name anyways."

Again the newly named Ichigo didn't really mind whatever Shiro was saying, as long as he was able to suck away the delicious Reiatsu he was happy.

From that day on Shirosaki never went anywhere without having Ichigo around him, most of the time he kept him in his palm, petting his orange fur. Funnily enough Ichigo seemed to enjoy being scratched or petted there as he always would hiss quite happily which bought a smile to his owner's face. And since Ichigo always happily tongued at the Espada he actually did get some sort of power boost from it. Well, not really a power boost but his little patch of fur covered his whole head now and really looked like some spiky hair tips. The Arrancar was quite found of it actually.

It didn't take long before the others noticed Shirosaki's mood change, that he most of the time looked quite pleased with himself and the word. At first everyone was quite surprised and kinda scared as to what would make the Zero so happy. But soon they found out when Aizen decided it was time for another one of his great speeches. As he announced it you could hear one big grown going through the whole palace. Nobody was interested, but since when did Mr. single hair curl care?

As they waited for Aizen to arrive the other Espada looked at Shirosaki, as he played with something in his hands with a pleasant smile on his face. As everyone was curious about what he had there the first one to act out on his curiosity was actually Yammy. "What ya smiling about Whitey? What ya got there?"

Growling in his direction Shiro pulled his hands close to his chest and snarled quite angrily: " That's non of yer damn business!" Now everyone just had to know what the Zero was hiding and after a short tug of war something fell out of out Shirosaki's hand. Ichigo landed on the cold floor with a small thud. Before Zero could react Grimmjow picked the object up from the ground. After three seconds of looking at it he looked confused at the white haired male.

"The fuck yer carrying around some lizard with you Shirosaki? Didn't Aizen say no snacks in the conference room?" Grinning madly number six spoke with a bittersweet voice. "But no worries I will get rid of it for ya." And his fist started to close around the little guy who was hissing and snarling at Grimmjow. Slowly his fist closed very tightly around the little creature and gave out a tiny cracking sound. Boiling full of rage Shirosaki screamed at him: "Don't ya fucker dare! Give him back. Now!"

Some Espada started laughing as Grimmjow decided to play with fire today and slowly applied more pressure to his fist, making gross bone cracking sounds that could only mean one thing: He was cracking Ichigo's tiny lizard armor and with that, him to pieces.

Shiro's eyes became unreadable and dark Reiatsu swirled around him. Suddenly the air got very heavy in the room, giving you a feeling of dread as if you drowned in your own despair. He forced some chocked from everyone in the room, reminding them all that they just pissed of number Zero. The strongest of them, the monster.

"If ya don't wanna get every bone crushed in yer body... I would quickly open up yer hand now... and hope fer yer own good... that Ichigo is still alive... I will skin you alive if he isn't..."

His voice was low, dark and cunning. Everyone knew that this was no joke, he was dead serious and would make his treats reality. Before Grimmjow could even act out on anything Shirosaki sonidoed in front of him and grabbed the hand that was holding Ichigo. With a sickening crunch he wrenched his little lizard out of Grimmjow's hand, breaking every single bone in the blue haired Arrancar's hand in the process. The painful cry that the blue haired Espada screamed was answered with dead silence.

Quickly opening his hand, Zero checked on his little friend, concern burning in his eyes. A little tear formed in his left eye as he saw the totally cracked mask and little bone body armor the lizard used to have. Even one of his little feed was totally wrenched and was bleeding quite strongly. He wasn't moving either.

"I-Ichi? Ichigo? Ichigo are yer still there?" That's when everyone in the room saw Shirosaki, the heartless monster, actually showing real concern for something for the first time in his life. Everyone just looked shocked at him. How could he care so much at something like that?

Full of anger Shiro punched Grimmjow in his face, faster than anyone could look. And with a sickening crunch he wrenched Grimmjow's masked side of the face in the next wall, breaking it in the process.

Not paying anymore attention to the bastard Shirosaki run into his room, putting Ichigo down on his blanket. Close to tears he poked at his little friend, begging whatever god was out there that he wasn't dead. He couldn't bear to loose his only friend, his little buddy. When he suddenly felt a small tongue licking at his finger he cried a single tear of relive.

Quickly ripping off some small pieces of his clothing he tried his best to bind it around Ichigo's tiny limps and head. Softly he grabbed him in his hand and laid down with him on his bed, putting his little lizard on his chest and petting the fur. "I am so sorry Ichi, I should have watched out better fer ya. I promise ya I will never ever let ya get hurt again. I am so sorry."

And as if his little friend understood him, Ichigo slowly curled his little tail around Shirosaki's finger and tongued his finger. That made the bigger male smile. He petted him again and scratched him extra long that night, waiting till the little guy was sleeping save and sound, making little hissing sounds now and then. This night he made sure to pump out extra strong Reiatsu to make sure his little friend would heal up as quickly as possible.


	2. A new comfy place

Hello and welcome to chapter 2 of this story :D

What wonderful adventures will little lizard Ichigo encounter today?

Read to find out!

When Shirosaki opened his eyes the next day he immediately wanted to see after his little pet, but to his shock, he wasn't on his chest anymore! Full of panic he looked around himself. Maybe his little friend had fallen down. As he stood up there was suddenly a small thud and he saw Ichigo laying on his back, struggling to turn around again with his damaged leg.

Breathing a sigh of relive, the Espada picked him up again and pulled him close to his chest, only to have Ichigo climbing on his chest and vanishing under under his clothes as he slipped through his collar.

The Arrancar looked confused at his chest and lifted up his top slightly, only to have Ichigo cling to his skin and looking him straight in the eyes. The little tongue darting out for a second only to vanish in the little mouth again.

"What yer up ta little one? Did ya sleep there? I am sorry did I wake ya up, made yer fall down?" He didn't really expect an answer as he knew the little lizard couldn't do more than hiss. He was pretty sure he didn't understand him either, but it didn't matter to him, as long as he had a friend. Smiling softly at the little guy bathing in his body heat, he seemed much better than yesterday. Knowing that his little boy deserved to be treated like a little lizard king today he scratched him again under the fur.

As he did that there was suddenly a rather low hiss from the lizard, now that was a new noise. It seemed very pleased and happy, like a purring cat. Applying more pressure and scratching a little harder Shirosaki had to suppress a manly giggle as the little guy made himself as flat as possible on his chest, seemingly enjoy this a lot.

Grinning with a mischievous glint in his eyes he started to poke him. "Are ya ticklish buddy?" After a few pokes, all he got out of it was a little bite in his finger again. Not that he really minded, it was kinda cute to him and so he continued teasing Ichigo. But little Ichi wasn't stupid, so he decided to to escape the poking finger by slithering down Shirosaki's chest.

"O-oi, oi! This is not were ya supposed ta go Ichi!" But the little lizard king didn't care as he slithered down his owner's chest, along the middle, around the Hollow hole, on the way to the belly button. He was about to travel even more south as Shirosaki grabbed him the last second and hold him up to his face. "No-no Ichi. Ya can't go down there." Chucking darkly he snorted: "That's no place for little lizards like ya to go, that's for big Hollows."

Wiggling with his finger in front of his little friend like an angry mother he wasn't really surprised as his only response was a bite to his pointer finger once again. If the Arrancar had a heart, it would flutter right now. He loved this little thing so much. He couldn't really describe it, there was no valid reason why somebody as powerful as him should like something so weak, but he just did.

Nuzzling the patch of hair with his nose he nearly purred at the contact, it just made him all fuzzy and happy on the inside. He nearly died of happiness when the little guy licked the tip of his nose in return. Maybe he was just trying to get his Reiatsu, but for Shiro is was a declaration of love.

Popping his bones while stretching he carefully moved his lizard to his shoulder where Ichigo happily curled up at Shiro's neck and nuzzled the skin, enjoying the warmth the bigger male produced and the Reiatsu he seemed to ooze out all the time. This was literally heaven for him. Sure the bigger Hollow teased him quite a lot and the biting never really helped either but he was always protected – even from this giant blue haired Hollow he got rescued – and had a full stomach all the time.

The Espada was just about to stroll in the desert to take Ichigo on a walk, but then of course the message of doom echoed through the halls of the palace: Another conference, another 3 hours, another 3 hours of hell. Zero narrowed his eyes, this was probably because of yesterday. After he had punched Grimmjow and hopefully broke more than his hand and mask, he was sure Aizen moved the conference. He low-key hoped he hadn't but of course he had to, because then two people would be missing out on his amazing speeches, yeh...

Of course it was annoying, but the same time he was afraid. He didn't wanted to get Ichigo in danger, he was sure the little guy wouldn't survive another squeeze in an Espada's hand. He wasn't even sure if the little guy would survive the night yesterday, but the fact he was happily curling up at his neck was reason enough to know: He had to protect him this time. This time he wouldn't let anyone harm him!

Five minutes later he sat at the table, narrowing his eyes dangerously at everyone who even dared to look at his neck. The only time he looked sadistically happy was when he spotted Grimmjow. The blue haired male's hand was bandaged and many tape pieces covered his mask. Snorting angrily at Shirosaki and sitting down as far as he could Grimmjow sulked at the end of the table.

When Aizen approached and started his speech by gesturing wildly with his hands, the tea was served. You didn't really believe Aizen would have conferences without tea, did you? Taking a few sips at the tea he wondered if Ichigo was able to drink tea and enjoy it. Without thinking much about it, he dipped his finger in the boiling hot tea – his skin wasn't harmed by it at all – and hold it up to Ichigo who eyed the wet finger curiously.

Boobing Ichigo's nose with the finger the little guy licked at Shiro's finger only to chomp down lightly and getting more of the liquid, seemingly enjoying the tea a lot. The other bored Espada watched as Zero carefully lifted his little pet off his shoulder and put him at the edge of his tea cup. He carefully blew at it so the surface wouldn't be so hot and watched delighted as Ichigo quietly sipped some drops of the tea. He made sure to lightly press down his tail so the little guy wouldn't fall in the cup and burn himself by accident.

After little Ichi lifted his head to signal Shirosaki that he was done drinking the Espada couldn't resit flipping the lizard in his palm and rubbing the small now pretty warm belly. The others eyes nearly bulged out as they saw the lovely-doey behavior of Zero towards his little pet, considering he nearly smashed Grimmjow's head yesterday. It was just a sigh you never expected to see, how he rubbed the belly and scratched the little fur with all the love and care in the world.

Aizen's left eye twitched as he realized not one single person in the room was paying attention to him. And he couldn't have that now, could he? Clearing his throat rather loudly Aizen glared annoyed at his number one. "Shirosaki would you put that thing away and pay attention, this is important. You are distracting the others as well." Responding with a nasty glare the Espada replied: "This ain't a thing, that's Ichigo."

Pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance Aizen sighed loudly. "Would ya kindly put away Ichigo then? Get him out of my eyes, he is disturbing my speech."

Looking pissed it took Shirosaki two seconds to come up with a great idea. With a cocky grin he parted his robe, grabbed Ichigo and put him in his Hollow hole, out of Aizen's sight. After he did that Aizen just looked at him dumb folded. Did he just really do that?

"Shirosaki did you just use your Hollow hole as storage room and put a Hollow at your probably most vulnerable point of your body ?"

Shiro: …  
Aizen: …  
Everyone: …

Aizen just face palmed. He couldn't believe it! Zero has always been insane, downright crazy. But this? This was just ridiculous! And then the bastard had the nerve to smirk at him and seemed very contend with himself.

While Aizen just continued with his speech, little Ichigo seemed very pleased with this outcome as well. It was warm, it was comfortable and the Reiatsu was especially dense at this core point. He might we well just found his favorite spot in the whole world. So he just curled up and decided to nap, because that was the best he could do anyways besides tonguing the air... and biting Shirosaki's finger.


	3. A trip to get the Strawberries

**Hello everyone!**

 **It's time for chapter number 3! Now this time we get something new: A trip to the world of the living~**

 **I was thinking about turning this into a relationship once Ichi is all big, but the same time I am not sure if that's really OK with people. And I am too embrassed to write such things too, oh boy~ Help?**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

"Go for it Ichigo! Kill it!" Shiro was cheering loudly in the background, this would be it! Ichigo would finally show some killer instincts.

With an angry hiss the little Lizard jumped forward and bit into his prey. Red substance was dripping down his little chin, giving him almost scary looking face.

"I am so proud of yer Ichi!" Shirosaki cooed for his little one while Ichigo hissed happily as he chewed on the remnants of his enemy.

Shirosaki happily noted: Ichigo was stronger than a Strawberry as the little guy happily munched on the red flesh of the object, bringing glory to his name. Well, you didn't believe this little buddy could actually murder something right now, do you? Well for Shirosaki it was a great accomplishment and pretty cute too see Ichigo chewing on a little strawberry. It was just so sweetly ironic.

Zero was really happy he had gone out of his way to obtain the little strawberry for his berry but there sure as hell was trouble and doom attached to this little story...

It has been a simple idea: Take Ichigo on a walk and show him some of his favorite places in the human world. He wanted to shower his little friend in love and make him happy. Yes maybe the little guy couldn't even grasp the edge of his kindness, but the feeling alone was making him happy.

The feeling of being able to express his care and love to someone. You would expect a Hollow to be devoid of all positive emotions, not being able to care or do anything remotely nice. But that was oh so wrong.

Arrancar were more than simple Hollows and they could stand above their inner instinct if they wished too. Sadly their personality was more than often just as bad as their instinct often worse. Shirosaki wasn't really better mind you. He was a vile and evil devil. He had all the right to wear the title of Zero, the heartless monster.

The fact that his Hollow hole was just were his heart was supposed to beat, showed everyone: He was a cruel creature. So everyone couldn't understand how he could show care. Was his own mind rebelling against his instincts? Was he maybe gaining something from this? Was it … to fill the hole in his soul?

Whatever it was: Shirosaki loved Ichigo, his little friend. Aizen was sure the Espada had gone completely crazy thanks to not having any company in the form of a Fractioné. But back to the topic: The trip to the world of the living!

Shirosaki had just opened his rip in the sky and just as he put his feet on the ground, Ichigo had been so excited and interested in everything he had fallen out of Shiro's hand on the ground. Of course the Espada had gone crazy and patted the little head at least twenty times and kissed the pain away. Or at least that was what Zero was thinking.

Being as light as four strawberries, the berry lizard hadn't really hurt himself at all. But the kisses and petting were nice nonetheless and he enjoyed the actions if the happy and content hisses were anything to go by.

The first thing the Espada had in mind was food. He wanted to bath his little friend and love in all the sweet things he could find. He wasn't an expert in the human cuisine, but Zero was sure if his little buddy enjoyed some tea, he would love to get more sweet things. And of course the first thing that came to his twisted mind was a strawberry. Which made him chuckle just a little bit.

The Espada hummed to himself. "Now... where da hell do I get a strawberry for mah little berry?" Lifting Ichigo to his face he locked eyes with him. "Do ya know Ichi? Nah, of course not. Hmhm, we will find ya something. Everything for my little king." That being said he pressed a warm kiss to the little mask, which earned him a lick to his check.

Walking around and presenting all kinds of things to Ichigo, his eyes lit up as he saw something the humans called a supermarket. He was sure he could find strawberries there. Walking without any care of being seen to the store, he was looking around for his treat. Too bad that he wasn't paying attention that moment. Because little Ichi decided to go exploring on his own.

Carefully climbing down Shiro's shoulder the lizard started to look around interested and was off in a few seconds. Everything looked amazing and new. He had to pay attention to all the humans walking around, it was easy being stepped on when they couldn't even see you. But the guy was used to almost being stepped on that.

Once he reached a little hill he sniffed and tongued the air. He wasn't sure what it was, but his instincts told him to go near it. It smelled heavy and had just an alluring note to it. Oh poor little Ichi didn't know where he went. Following the smell he found himself at a weird shop, it was small and rundown, but the smell was just too good to pass up. Like he was enchanted he quickly went through the door, well as quick as his little lizard feeds could carry him.

Carefully looking around he soon spotted something on the table. It was tea again, and boy, did it look good. He enjoyed it so much last time, so a little sip wouldn't hurt again. He could remember the it too well, his belly had been all warm and fussy. He wouldn't pass this up! With a little trouble he managed to climb up the table and started to happily sip on the tea. This one was way sweeter than the last one, but he liked it anyways.

A happy hiss could be heard as the little belly started to fill itself with the warm liquid. He probably could have sipped this all day if it wasn't for the sudden loud voice booming behind him that scared him out of his mask.

"Mah, mah. So what do we have here? You spill Hollow bait once and then there comes a little Hollow to claim your tea~ How rude~" Looking behind him the little lizard could see a strange man with a green striped hat and a fan. He looked kinda strange to Ichigo. He wore no mask and seemed just very alien to him. No wonder, he never had seen a a human this close before. Well the man in front of him wasn't really a human but close enough.

Well, whoever this man was, he meant danger. And that was reason enough to quickly put the tail in-between his legs and run. Too bad the man quickly grabbed him by his tail and hold him close to his face and snapping his fan shut.

"Oh, now running away~?" Playfully poking the little Hollow the man sat down and inspected his little catch. This sure was something strange. _"Since when do such Hollows cross the bridge between the two worlds? It must has been an accident, it probably came with a bigger Hollow here. There is no way such a small thing could open a portal here. This is bad... that means there is some bigger Hollow around here. Considering it can open a bridge between the two worlds it could be very powerful..."_

Lost in his musings he suddenly yelped loudly as little Ichigo was fed up with being hold a prisoner and bit into the human's finger. Now since that one didn't had armor-like skin he actually started bleeding a bit. "Mahhhhh, ouch! Let's go! That actually hurts!" Quickly letting the lizard down he started at the little Hollow as it hissed angrily at him, tail swinging dangerously left and right.

While little Ichigo was about to fight for his life Shirosaki just just realized he was missing a certain someone.

"Eh Ichi I just found ya some strawberries, ain't that nice my sweet kin-! Ichi? Ichi?! Ichi where are ya?!"

Panic was clearly evident in the Espada's voice. He was nearly shaking, he was actually close to tears. "Alright, alright, where could he hav' gone? Think, think! Could a human have stepped on 'im?! No, no... that can't be, calm down. Concentrate, he is stuffed with yer own Reiatsu, I should be able to track 'im. Don't worry Ichi, I am coming fer yer!"

Quickly jumping in the air he started concentrate on the Reiatsu around him. As he closed his midnight sky eyes he breathed in slowly. Going into himself he made the air vibrate with power, making ribbons visible. Most of them were just plain white and boring, but some of them had a red edge or tint to them. But those weren't the ones he cared about right now, so he quickly pushed them aside in his mind.

Then he saw one being pitch-black. Looking rotten and frayed at the ends. That was his own one, but that wasn't what he was looking for either. _"Come on, it's gotta be here somewhere!"_ He had to admit, he was surprised by all the different ribbons, some where even red and slightly black at the ends and normally he probably would be interested in them. But right now there was no time for that!

Gritting his teeth together he pushed at all his limits to find one little Hollow, he almost crushed the strawberries he still had in his hands. And then suddenly he saw it: A very small ribbon, it was grayish with some black frayed ends. " _That's_ gotta _be it!"_ Grabbing it with his clawed hands he pulled at it and followed the path of the band. Speeding up he was amazed how far his little boy had actually come or how long he must have searched for the strawberries at that store.

When he found the little house he burst through the door without thinking about who might be in there. And when he saw his little Ichi being treated by another person he completely lost it.

"ICHI!" Without much of a thought he jumped at the table, pushed the man to the side and scooped his little lizard in his hands. With a loud crunch the man made a big indent in the wall, groaning in pain. After a few seconds of shocked dizziness he looked at his attacker. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he saw Espada number one – Zero - Hichigo Ogichi Shirosaki, probably one of the most dangerous beings in all three worlds hugging a little lizard close to him, cooing to it with the words "It's alright, it's alright. I got ya, yer are save" over and over again and showering it with reassuring kisses. Now that was certainly not how the candy shop owner Kisuke Urahara imagined his day to be.


	4. The evil Ichi-Napper!

**Hello everyone! Please enjoy this short but hopefully funny chapter^^**

Kisuke groaned loudly. What a lousy day this had been. First he woke up feeling as stiff as a plank, then he burned his tongue on some tea, spilled some hollow bait, then some little Lizard Hollow stealing his tea and now THIS. What had he done to deserve this?

Oh well, he wouldn't have survived for an eternity if he wasn't a tough cookie. The question remained though: How to deal with some crazy Espada sitting on your table, kissing some little Lizard Hollow? Now he could try to shoo him, but he could just imagine getting his ass handed by Zero – or even worse: His shop would be blown up! No, no. There had to be a way to get rid of him. Zero was insane, everyone knew that. So, what could he do? Questions upon questions...

Sighing loudly he lowered his hat and snapped his fan open, what a bother. The loud snapping sound made Shirosaki listen up and actually look at the Lizard-Napper, as he was 100% sure that was, what the man was! A lousy Ichi-Napper!

Sneering angrily at the shop owner Shiro asked with a low voice: "Say Mr. Ichi-Napper, wha' where yer planin' on doin' to mah lil Ichi... I fuckin' dare ya to touch him again! Nobody touches mah lil baby and survives to tell the tale!"

Opening his eyes very wide the shop owner just starred for a second before he just gave a confused "eh?"-sound. "Ichi-Napper...? Mah, mah Mr. Hollow, I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about, nor do I know this 'Ichi' you are talking about."

The white haired Hollow immediately pointed to his open palm where a now happy Ichigo nibbled on his thumb. "That's Ichi! Right there! Stop lyin' you lying scum! Ya napped him, I fuckin' saw ya... ugly bucket hat!"

"Now that's not nice. My hat is beautiful...!" Sniffing a few times Urahara started to look at 'Ichi' only to laugh a few seconds later. The death stare of the Arrancar was worth it. "Now pray tell me, Hollow-san, why would I want to 'nap' a tiny thing like this? He is the one who stole my tea~ If anything it's the bad guy~"

Shirosaki was ready to explode! He called his little Ichi an it. And who wouldn't want someone as cute and awesome as his little boy?! He was sure his little Ichi was crying on the inside for being insulted so much. Of course he had to smooch his King to make him 'feel better'. And smooch he did. Kissing his Berry all over, scratching just right at the head and praising him for being the very best. Urahara just stared. Was he high?

With one last death stare Hichigo noticed, that his strawberries were all pretty much destroyed now, he had clenched his hand too much. What a bummer! With an angry and disappointed hiss he threw them at the stupid shopkeeper, bull's eye! "All yer fault! Now I gotta get new strawberries for mah berry!" And it was this very moment Urahara Kisuke knew, how to come out of this with all limbs intact – minus his stained clothes. And strawberries were so hard to get out of clothes too! Damn red dye!

"Well Arrancar-san, how about a trade? I offer you some strawberries and for that you leave me and my shop alone. I assure you I am not looking forward to conflict nor do I want your little… friend. Do we have a deal?" Urahara was a great actor. If he was a lesser man, he would sweat and shake like a leaf. Shirosaki narrowed his eyes, and then looked at his little berry. Well he certainly wanted strawberries and if the stupid bucket hat idiot could actually provide those he might as well exploit him more times in the future.

"Fine Bucket Hat, we got a deal 'ere. But those fruits better be the best, cause any less won't do."

After getting those beautiful red fruits in his hands he kicked the shop keeper one last time – just for good measure – and left. And that's my dear readers is the reason, why we could follow the most epic battle of Ichi against the evil Strawberry.


	5. Who is this Husk of a Hollow in my room?

**Hello, hello! Hope you enjoy! :')**

The days went on and on. Night went to night and to night again. What? This was Hueco Mundo. There is no sunrise silly. Shirosaki spend most of his days lazing around, wandering to the world of the living to throw all sorts of candy and treats at his little Ichi and sleeping in Aizen's meetings.

As another night passed, he was ready to sleep. He grabbed his little friend by the tiny legs, scooping him up in his arms. "Time ta sleep~", he cooed. If there was one thing to brighten up his night it was watching little Ichi sleep, or be awake, nibbling on his finger, hunting strawberries, OK, OK… he enjoyed everything the little guy did. He was only a bit obsessed.

Sighing happily he went to sleep, having his little bundle of joy right at his center of his chest, sleeping in his Hollow hole. Like he did every night. He was happy. So imagine his surprise when he woke up the next morning. There was no little lizard snoozing on his …. Well IN his chest but a big husk of a Hollow sitting between his legs. Like some sort of dog it had its hands between his own knees, on the mattress. Kneeing down and moving its head slightly to the side as the gigantic tail of this beats swished happily left and right.

Zero looked quite puzzled. Not that he was afraid, he didn't know fear, at least not like this. How did this thing manage to sneak into his bedroom? Not only that, but actually sit on his mattress like it belonged there. How didn't he wake up? And… hold up. Where was Ichigo?

OK, now was time to panic! Throwing the blankets off and in the beast's face – who cared about that thing right now anyways - he started looking around like a mother who lost her child. He looked everywhere: Under the bed, in his Hollow Hole, his hair, his collar, shoes, socks, yes even his pants. No Ichi was to be seen.

When he heard a deep rumbling sound coming from under the blanket he zoomed in on his "guest", who had managed to get the blanket off of its face. Suddenly realization set in. "YOU!" he screamed. "What did ya do ta mah little Ichi?! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YA HARMED OR EATEN HIM!" But the beast just looked confused and snuggled into the blankets, seemingly enjoying the warmth and smell, as its mask opened a little for a tongue to taste the air.

Shiro stepped closer, ready to tear this Hollow a new one, when it decided to butt his head in his direction and bite his finger. Now with those big teeth you would expect him to bite off Shiro's finger, but no. He started nibbling on it, as if he did it every damn day. And then it actually purred! Purred! "What the...?"

Then it clicked. The long orange mane, the biting of his finger, the fearless behavior towards him - the Hollow that stood at the top of the food chain – everything. This Hollow, it was his little Ichi.

"Ichi, is tha' ya? Is it really ya?" His only answer was a rather unintelligent sound and a masked face, trying to burry itself in his chest. Little… well, medium sized Ichigo seemed to lack the brain to understand, that he couldn't fit in that Hollow Hole anymore. After making a frustrated sound he gave up.

You surely wonder how Shirosaki now knew 100 % that Ichigo was indeed male. Well… That Hollow – man – didn't seem to care for pants. At least now he really knew the gender of his little friend. Well to Ichigos defense he never had to care of pants in his short life before! Nor did he even know the feeling of embarrassment. And his transformation didn't come with them either, so it wasn't his fault, not one bit!

Wrapping the blankets a little tighter around his friend – covering him up - and taking his face in-between his bone white hands Shiro looked deeply into the eyes beneath the mask. They stared back, quite intelligently. Considering the behavior the little man had shown so far. With that, a rare and unseen content smile lay upon the white head's lips. What a beautiful boy he had.

Ichigo stared back, a feeling sitting in the bit of his stomach he couldn't quite comprehend. Everything was different. Last night he had woken up from his deep slumber, feeling restless. Everything had pulled into itself and he had felt warm. And then he had transformed. Suddenly everything seemed tinier, he felt heavy, oh so heavy and bulky. His vision sharpened as well as all other senses. Only his tongue didn't seem to work quite as well as it used too. But now he could smell, really weird if you asked him. Not that you could, as he wouldn't answer. Speaking was beyond him.

With lots of uncertainly he had sat at his owners legs, waiting for him to wake up. He hoped everything to become clear once his friend was awake. Shirosaki seemed to always know what to do. But when the white haired Hollow had screamed at him he was confused. Why was he screaming at him? Threaten him? Had he done something wrong? No, he didn't recognize him!

When he did Ichigo felt something, maybe relieve? But he did feel happy and content when the Espada wrapped him up in his blanket and smiled at him. He wasn't angry at him! With heavy and uncertain hands he mimicked Shiro's movements and grabbed his face too. Was he smiling under that mask too? Only Ichigo would know.

Despite the heaviness of his tail he could feel it swishing under the covers. Everything was so odd and off. But it would be alright, he had Shiro right here. The person he… well. He didn't know exactly, but it was a positive feeling.

Shiro nearly broke out in tears when rough and clawed hands grabbed his face. He was so happy and relieved. Carefully he touched Ichigo's forehead with his own, connecting their eyes. Closing them in bliss he hugged the husk of a lizard Hollow close. The feeling of being warm and happiness was so alien to him, but the same time it felt so familiar. As if he had felt it before. Who knows who or what he was before his death. But it didn't matter anymore, not now or ever.

Pressing a careful kiss with chalky white lips to the top of the slightly cracked but smooth mask he smiled. "Love ya, welcome home Ichi." And the Lizard Hollow with the red tipped tail, spikes jutting out of his shoulders, purred. Yes, yes he did love him too. He wasn't sure what Shiro exactly meant with the word "love", but whatever it was. It was spoken so fondly to him, Ichigo was sure he "loved" Shiro too. He would find out one day. But for now the two laid back down to snuggle. What a weird but lovely night, wasn't it?


End file.
